What a time we had at Reunion! So many classmates said it was our best Reunion ever. I agree.
As was evident at our Class Discussion, we all seem to be turning a corner in our lives. No longer is anyone very concerned about making a good impression or worrying about whether we were the one mistake Wellesley Admissions made back in 1965. Every one of us is a treasured member of the glorious Class of 1969, and we are committed to staying more connected than ever as we navigate the last quarter of our lives.
We wish the entire class could have attended Reunion, but we know what a difficult weekend it was for many. With graduations, long-planned trips, weddings, and medical events, there was no way everyone could be there. To keep the Reunion spirit going, your class officers have made a commitment to keep us reuniting frequently throughout the next five years.
One of the ways we plan to keep everyone in touch is to schedule more frequent Class Zoom meetings. We will continue to have our open-ended Zooms, moderated so skillfully by our beloved Class Vice President Nancy Herron. In addition, we plan to hold other Class Zooms with more targeted topics. Our creative Class Fund Rep Nonnie Gilbert made that excellent suggestion at the end of our Class Zoom this spring. We are soliciting ideas for these targeted Zooms. Potentially, we will enlist various classmates to moderate these meetings. Our brilliant Class Communications Coordinator Becki Fitts Lawson will facilitate these Zoom meetings. With her, all things are possible.
One of the first topics we will tackle in our targeted Zooms will be organizing and scheduling regional mini-reunions. We plan to get everyone together on Zoom to generate dates and places for classmates to gather across the country. Eldie Acheson has already offered her fabulous home in Cape Cod for a New England mini-reunion, to which classmates from all over the country will be invited. Be thinking about other places and hosts for mini-reunions in your area. Mini-reunions can be as simple as scheduling a time and place to meet at a local restaurant or as elaborate as a weekend in a beautiful place. Start thinking now.
Of course, our talented Class Secretary Susan Alexander will be keeping us connected though her column in the Wellesley magazine. Bolstering her efforts, our Class Facebook Administrator Peggy Dubinsky Price will be helping classmates to share their news and photos on our private Class of ’69 Facebook page. We may even have a Zoom meeting where Peggy explains how to get on Facebook.
Rounding out our leadership team is our wonderful and efficient Class Treasurer Ann Lambert, who will keep our class treasury solvent and explore ways to made it grow. With the generosity of so many classmates, we were able to subsidize record book and reunion expenses, allowing us to move into the next five years with a healthy balance in our treasury.
So, we are off to another five years on our Wellesley journey. For me, anticipating each Reunion inspires me to stay as healthy as possible. Just after our 40th Reunion in 2009, I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, an incurable, life-threatening form of cancer. Fifteen years later, with so much love and support from the class, I am alive and well, looking forward to our 60th Reunion in 2029. The more we stay connected, the greater are the odds that we will be able to celebrate that Reunion together. My pledge as your Class President is to do all I can to make that happen. We will do it together!
--- Nancy Wanderer